Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie has said Kenyans should be prepared to face the reality ahead of a rise in coronavirus cases as mass testing begins on Sunday.
The MP has urged the government to be open and tell Kenyans the truth as far as positive cases are so that they can take the situation seriously.
“Kenya Government must forthwith communicate the gravity of the real situation without sugar coating anymore. Let Kenyans know how bad things are about to get. They will be better equipped to make personal decisions and put up with government decrees, measures and restrictions,” Kiarie said.
The MP said it is high time that the government comes up with more isolation centers around the country and that the burden should not be left to county governments who are currently designating a few hospital beds to cater for patients with Covid-19.
“Kenya National Government must set up massive isolation centers around the country; over 4,000 bed isolation centres in Kasarani, Nyayo and City Stadiums in Nairobi. Over 3,000 bed Isolation centres in Mombasa and similar centres countrywide,” Kiarie said.
Kiarie has further said the country should kick-start production of sufficient masks which he said is about to be the most important commodity in the country.
According to him, the situation might overwhelm health officers and the government should support the community health volunteers who can help officers at the village level.
He has challenged the parliamentary Health committee to take leadership on the legislative response to the current pandemic and that pay cuts will not be of much use.
” A Kenya Covid-19 Bill is long overdue. Kenya Parliament must step up to the plate. Sorry, populist pay cut stories won’t help here,” Kiarie added.
The MP said that the government failed in taking measures to secure borders before the pandemic hit the country.
“We’ve missed critical milestones and that is why we are here. This is an imported disease. If we just kept our borders closed we would not be in this mess,” MP said.
To improve hygiene in the country, the MP said water supply companies should be forced to supply water during this rainy season where dams are full of water.
The Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that it will start mass testing on Sunday for the people who arrived into the country last week and were put under mandatory quarantine.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said on Saturday that the Ministry of Health is tracing clse contacts for the 38 confirmed cases.
He said the total number of close contacts who have been monitored stands at 1,141 and 163 of them have been discharged after completing the mandatory 14 day follow up period.